Monday, February 2, 2009

Just wanted to say that again. I woke up this morning to find out that the absolute elation of a Super Bowl-winning touchdown drive in the closing seconds was no dream. Big Ben was good Big Ben in those final minutes, and Santonio came up huge, seemingly making all the tough catches look easy.

A lot of people are complaining about the lack of replay on that final Warner fumble. Sure, it could've been reviewed, but I still don't think the outcome would've changed. Since there was no replay, the aggravated fans who didn't have a team in the Super Bowl are all ripe for trying to discount our win. "Ooooh, Arizona would've gotten the ball at the 30 and Warner would complete a jump ball to Larry Fitzgerald and all would be right in the world. Screw Steelers fans. The refs give them everything!" Shut up.

Your speculation doesn't change the outcome. Fans are almost getting to the point where they want replay after every snap, it seems like. Fumble?!?!?!?!? NO, IT CAN'T BE!?!?!?! CHECK THAT SHIT AGAIN!!!! The rule on the field was a fumble, and there was nothing to show that it was a forward pass. Inconclusive evidence? Nope. If it was an incomplete pass, why wasn't Warner pleading that he was throwing the ball like he did on a similar play earlier in the game? I'd almost expect more outta Warner in that situation. But you know why he didn't? Because he knew he fumbled.

So quit over-analyzing just to piss off a bunch of happy fans. Your team didn't make it, so quit trying to bring us down with your meandering bullshit.

Now, I just spent the entire beginning of a SUPER BOWL RECAP IN WHICH MY TEAM WON discussing how obnoxious other fans can be. The Cardinals, Whis and the staff were all respectful after the game, focusing on their positives and how they can improve their team in the future. Warner wasn't running after the officials, screaming for Goodell to fine him. These idiots fans are doing the same thing Baltimore fans did after the Santonio "was-he-over-the-line" touchdown in the regular season. How about, don't surrender the lead on an 80+ yard drive in the closing seconds. The Cards, just like the Ravens, let that happen, and one non-replay doesn't change the outcome.

But now that that's outta the way, how about our team? Mike Tomlin, as improbable as it may have seemed, won a Super Bowl in his second year, easily eclipsing the time lengths set forth by legends Noll and Cowher. Ben has two rings, and must be applauded for leading a run-first team to multiple Super Bowls in which a WR wins MVP. Someone needs to throw to those wideouts, so Ben should take some sort of pride in being a part or two MVP performances in the past 3 years (4 seasons).

The run game didn't hit like we wanted, but that's a non-story if you hoist a trophy after the game. In my mind, the game was perfect in all aspects. If I was giving ratings like I do during the regular season, every facet of this team would get 5 of 5 motorcycle helmets. Sure, I wanted to punch Chris Kemoeatu if he false-started or held one more time, but since he just won a ring, I'll echo Big Ben and say "Who's laughing now, O-Line?"

Enough can't be said about James Harrison and the defense he leads. Much was made about all the other regular-season-award-winners bowing out of the playoffs early. Manning was MVP, Ryan was RotY, and both exited early. Brees was offensive player of the year and didn't even make the playoffs. James Harrison was the top defensive player in the league, and made the longest play, defensive OR offensive, in Super Bowl history. Backed up to his own goal line, Harrison potentially created a 14 point swing with his 100 yard INT return TD. People aren't lying when they say defense wins championships.

There's way too many people I'm forgetting, but you know the facts. There were no truly weak performances last night, and the end-result was the best we could've hoped for. Every negative from the preseason was addressed throughout these grueling past 5 months, from the O-Line, to Ben's decision-making, to the schedule and Mike Tomlin's justification.

At the end of the day, an inconclusive non-replay won't take away our record 6th Lombardi Trophy, one that was earned, not given, on a legendary, game-winning drive. Party hard and burn another couch, Pittsburgh fans.

12 comments:

I've seen this other places and I'm still not getting it. What is up with the "Arizona would've gotten the ball at the 30" if the final Cardinal play would have been reviewed? I read some Yahoo blogger saying that but I don't understand. If they would have reviewed it and called it an incomplete pass (which would have been the wrong call), it would have been 2nd and 10 from the Pittsburgh 44. Keisel recovered the fumble so it wasn't like Arizona got the ball further up the field. And Al Michaels said the booth reviewed it right before Ben took a knee so I don't know what the whining was about.

If the Cardinals "fans" want to whine about something, whine about 3 Cardinal defenders being unable to cover Holmes in the corner of the end zone for the game winning touchdown.

Hept - Everyone's saying the 30 because the ball was at the 45, and Farrior got flagged for taking off his helmet...unsportsmanlike...15 more yards. However, if it wasn't a fumble, even though it was, I don't know if you can flag a guy for celebrating something that didn't happen.

Still, Warner threw 0 passes over 20 yards (in the air), and everyone was automatically assuming Larry Fitzgerald would come down with a 30 (or 45) yard bomb against the #1 pass defense in the league.

I don't think you can flag him either because the call on the field was a fumble recovery for Pittsburgh which resulted in the removing of the helmet for a penalty. If they would have gone to the booth and reversed it, I don't see how the penalty could be stand because the outcome of the original play would have been different.

Either way, we're Super Bowl Champs and no one can take that away from us. Now I have to go tell my boss I'm not coming in the day of the parade. I went in 2006 and plan on making the trip again this year.

Shouldn't even be a point of discussion. The officials got the non-fumble at the end right -- no need for review (although it would have only confirmed the correctness of the call) ... just as the official who signaled touchdown on Santonio's game-winning catch got it right, as well, and IMMEDIATELY at that.

Of course, maybe if the non-fumble call had been reviewed, we would have been spared the ridiculous and unctuous moanings of "analysts" like Tim Hasseldick on ESPN, who was bitching about the Warner fumble not being reviewed AND about how it should have been ruled an incomplete pass, AND how the ball would have been advanced not just to the 30-yard line, but to the 15-yard line (huh?) because Santonio Holmes should have been flagged for an "orchestrated celebration" following his touchdown (I know, it makes no sense) ... so, Hasselbeck says, the Cardinals would have had the ball on the 15 with seven (?) seconds to play and an opportunity throw a fade pass to Larry Fitzgerald in the end zone. These fucking Hasselbecks. Whiny bitches. It's like they STILL haven't gotten over how badly Seattle sucked in Super Bowl XL and deserved to lose, notwithstanding their incessant whining that continues to this day. That goes for Holmgren, too. And Elizabeth Hasselbeck, too! We shouldn't even have to be discussing this. It was a great, great game, the Steelers won, and that's all I care about. Hept-Rossi makes a good point: "If the Cardinals "fans" want to whine about something, whine about 3 Cardinal defenders being unable to cover Holmes in the corner of the end zone for the game winning touchdown." ... which is basically what I said about Seattle after Super Bowl XV: "If you want to win the game, don't surrender a 43-yard pass completion on third and 28."

steelers lined up and snapped the ball quick to end any of that review BS. That's part of the game as well, the Steelers don't have to wait around for the refs to decide if they want to review or not. You see teams all the time try to line up quick to not allow the other team to challenge, same rules apply against the booth.

Hey Tecmo, earlier in the season, as a Pittsburgher living in Boston, I had the bright idea to try and find some Pittsburgh sports blogs to help me keep up with my teams. I found yours, which immediately became one of my favorites. I was always surprised when some of your best posts didn't seem to get many (or any!) comments, but for some reason I never actually commented myself. Now this post, even though it does have comments, seems like a good place to do it.

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